Traction-wheel.



T. FVHLLER.

i). C. LAGHT L W.

TRACTIGN WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNEZI, 1912A 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

(www,

Invenlonv Attorneys.

D. C. SLAGHT l W. T. MILLER.

TRACTON WHEEL.

APPUcATwN mw 1uNE21, 1912.

1,145,088. l Patented July 6, 1915.

D. c, SLAGHT @v/[L MILLER.

TRACHONWHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED IUNEZ I92.

Patented July 6, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

"prnn sTATns PATENT onirica.

l DANIEL C. SLAGHTIAND WILLIAM Tf MILLER, OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA; SAID SLAG-HT' ASSIGNOR T0 RICHARD N. DYER,

OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, AND

PHILIP S. DYER, OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

speeication of Letters Patent.

TRACTION-WHEEL.

Y Patented July 6, 1915.

Application filed .Tune 27, 1912. Serial No. 705,155

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that we, DANIEL C. SLAGHT and TVILLIAM T. MILLER, citizens of the United States, residing at Easton, county of Northampton, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovenient iny Traction-lvheels, of which the following is a specification.

Our `invention relates to traction wheels especially intended for use in automobiles,

.commercial vehicles `and similar motoriy 'and combinations hereinafter described and pointed'out in the claims. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a section of the hub of a wheel embodying our invention, taken in the plane of the wheel on the line ll of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a section at right angles to Fig. l, taken on the line 2-2 of F ig. l. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. Q, showing a modified form of the wheel;I and'Figs-4, and (i are diagrams illustratingthe action of thev component parts of our lwheel.

Referringfirstv to igs, 5 and' 6: is a chamberedwhub, and ',Sis an internal spur gear secured concentrically in the hub chamber. The 'hub may, for the purposes of the explanation oi' these figures, be regarded as'resting on the ground. A carrier or eccentric 9, which is a cylindrical or disln like body, is supported concentrically in an opening in the sides of the hub chamber by Aan ant-ifriction bearing l() represented in theseV gures by the four rollersor balls designated by that number. The driving axle shaft l1 passes through an eccentrically located openingin the carrier 9, and is surrounded by an antifriction bearin 12, the rollers or balls of which are locate between the axle and the carrier. Fixed upon the I duction in the axle shaft ll is the spur gear wheel 13,.55

which meshes with the internal gear S. The

weight of the vehicle supported by the axle i shaf't is carried by the eccentric 9 through the antifriction bearings lf2 and l() and not at all by the bearing of the gear 13 upon the'gear S, which gears are maintained in mesh on a true pitch lineby the support afforded by the eccentric.

lVhen theparts are at rest (Fig. 4), the weightsupported by the axle shaft will turn the eccentric so that the axle will hang below the center of the hub and the gears S and 13 will mesh at the lowcrmost point. lf the axle Vshaft is,l however, driven in either direction, as shown in Figs. and 6,

the efi'ect is to cause the gear 13 to roll upward on the internal'gear S away from its central or ,rest position, and, in doing so, the axle-` will be raised, lifting the weight of the vehicle, the eccentric 9 turning sufiiciently to permit this movement. 'The weightis, therefore, shifted in the direction of movement of the hub .andfbeing L raised, reacts upon the internal gear 8 to overbalance it in that being similar tovthat of a man Walking inside a hoop. A similar action takesplace when the vehicle is checltet by the brake, it the brake is applied to Athe axle shaft. In this case, the gear 13 is driven by the gear 8, and the gear 13 being restrained bvv the friction of the brake '.on the axle shaft tends to climb up on the backward sidel of the gear 8, thus utilizing. the weight of the vehicle to check its movement. either case, c.--whether the axle shaft is driven or is checked, the vWheel is not acted on directly and positively, but indirectly by the reaction produced by the elort to lift the weight of the vehicle.

The utilization of this principle in a traction wheel for motor-driven vehicles secures numerous advantages, such as a re strain -on the tiresapreventing them from slipping on the ground, and hence increasing their life; also enabling the vehicle to be started and stopped more easily and more smoothly, absorbing shocks due to the engine and to the uneven surface of the road, and generally improving the riding qualities of the vehicle and increasing the life of all its parts. A further advantage arises-'from thefact that there direction, the action completely around if under the conditions the weight of the vehicle is not sulicient to start the car. The principle can be applied to 'chain-driven as well as t0 ShaftA driven vehicles'whethenof the semidioating or full floating types, as will be later explained. y

f A construction illustrating the principle applied to a shaft-driven wheel of the semi-floating type is illustrated in Figs. l and 2, to which attention is now directed. Therein the eccentric is divided into two parts, 9and 9a, located on opposite sides of the gear wheel 13 whose hub forms the hub anti-friction bearings 10, 10a.

sleeve or box 11a for the axle shaft 11. The

axle shaft is carried in bearings mounted in the usual sleeve 11, and the vehicle bodyv is supported on the sleeve. The shaft- 11, sleeve 11b and the differential casing (not shown) constitute the axle. The anti-fricv tion bearings are likewise made in two parts, 10 and 10, and 12 and 12, respectively.

,The'two parts of the eccentric are connected by saddles 14, which extend over the -top of the gear 13 and hold the two parts of the eccentric in rigid relation with each other. The wheel hub is enlarged to form a chamber to carrythe eccentric and associated parts. This chamber is inclosed by two side plates' 15,' 16, which vare bolted together at their perimeters to the sides of achannel ring 17, carrying the spoke sockets 1S. The side plates 15, 1G, have shoulders 19, 20, which carry the outer races or cones of the The gear Wheel 13 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in the form of a sprocket wheel, and the internal gear 8 is composed of sprocket rollers 'formed by sleeves 21 supported by'bolts 22,

which not only perform this function but also secure the side plates of the hub to the' channeled spoke ring. Ne prefer this formof gearing for strength and durability, and

also because the sprocket rollers can be more cheaply embodied in the construction than an ordinary internal spur gear. sprocket rollers can also be readily renewed when worn, as likewise can the rim of the sprocket Wheel 13, when that wheel is made in the divided form, as shown in the drawing. The open sides of the hub chamber are closed by the two parts of the eccentric, ex-

l cept for the spaces occupied by the anti friction bearings. Those spaces are closed by rings 23, 2e, 23, 24 whichare screwed respectively vinto the shoulders 19 and 2O of the hub chamber and into the divided eccentric at' its shaft opening, such rings being packed Lwith lead cordon their rubbing.

' edges. v'The closure of the hub box is thus m'adecomplete, and thev space vthus inelosed maybe filled with ,grease to.lubricatcthe.

The

igeaosa parts. A dust cap 25 maybe placed over the cuter end ott the hub, to give a finished appearance to the wheel. Upon the axle shaft and rigidly secured to it and to the hub 11* is mounted a brake drum 26, of any usual form. Carried on the sleeve 11b is a brake member 26a adapted to be expanded into frictional engagement with the drum 26. This engagement will tend to retard the rotation 'of the axle shaft and the inertia of the car vwill cause the gear 8 to move forward or backward as depends on the direction of travel of the car before theI brake was applied, and the'gear 13 being heldstationary by the brake will tend to climb up on the side of the gear 8 in thtflirection opposite to that of the moveihent of said gear and the weight of the car body will be added to the pressure applied' to the brake to check the movement of the car.

The action'of the parts will be understood from the explanation already given of Figs. 4, 5 and 6. In that explanation it is noted that the eccentric is free to turn completely around if the sudden application of power to the axle shaft were sufficient to lift the weight of the vehicle through the complete range of movement of the eccentric without starting the vehicle. Vve provide an emergency stop, which can be used to arrest this complete movement if the power required to start the vehicle when mired is greater than the weight of the vehicle. For this purpose, the inner-part 9a of the eccentric is provided with an arm 2T yprojecting radially 'outward therefrom, and a normally withdrawn stop 28 is supported by the chassis in line with vthe movement of the ,arm 27. When occasion requires, the stop y28 can be projected into the path of the-arm 27, arresting the rotating movement of the eccentric in either directionand enabling the full power ofthe engine to 'be directly applied to the wheel.- `i

In Fig. 3 the vri vent-ion is shown as appliedto the full oating type of wheel. The parts are the same as have already beer` described in connectionwith Figs. l and 2, except that the sprocket wheel. 13, instead of being mounted directly upon the axle box, is

mounted upon a stationary sleeve 3() surrounding the axle sha-tt 11. Anti-friction bearings 31 are placed between the sleeves 29 and 3G Iand the axle shaft is connected with the sleeve 29 so as to drive it by means of a clutch 32, secu red to the end of the axle shaft where it vproject-s through the sleeve 30, and engaging 'with the adjacent end of the sleeve 29. From the sleeve 29 outward the parts are the same as have already been de scribed in connectio'n with Figs.l 1 and 3,

mounted upon a sleeve 29 which, in tu'rn, is

The full floating type of drive which;

constitutes the difference betweenthe con-v` struction shown in Fig; 3 th'atshoirvn' ipff Figs. l and 2 Will be understood Without further description. The bralie drum 26 is connected with the sleeve Q9, as will also be the chain drive if the Wheel is a cbain-driven instead of a shaft-driven ivheel, in which latter case the clutch 32 would, ci" course, be omitted. It should be understood that the sleeve 29 ot' Fig. 3 is included as the element referred to by the expression axle i in the claims hereinafter made.

lVhat we claim is 1. In a motor driven vehicle, the combination with a Wheel. a rotating axle member Hoating eccentrically in the hub of the wheel on antifriction bearings, a pinion carried by the member and an internal gear carried by the hub meshing vvith said pinion, of a brake acting on said member, whereby the vehicle will be checked by the re-action produced by lifting its Weight,4 substantially as set forth.

E2. In a motor driven vehicle, the combination with a wheel, a rotating axle member floating eccentrically in the hub of the u'heeiL on anti-friction bearings, a pinion carried by the member and an internal gear carried by the hub meshing with said pinion, of a brake acting on said member, whereby the vehicle will be checked by the re-action produced by lifting its Weight, and means limiting the fioating movement of the member when checked by the brake, substantially as set forth.

In a motor driven vehicle, the combinel tion with the hub of a traction Wheel, of the driving axle memben floating eccentrically in the hub on anti-friction bearings, a gear carried by the member vmeshing with an internal gear carried by the hub, and a brake coacting with said member, whereby the vehicle will be driven and checked by the reaction produced by lifting its Weight, stibstantially as set forth.

4. In a motor driven vehicle, the combination with the hub of a traction Wheel, of the driving axle member floating eccentrically in the hub on anti-friction bearings, a gear carried by the member meshing with an internal gear carried by the hub, a brake coacting with said member, whereby the vehicle Will be driven and checked by the reaction produced by lifting its Weight, and means limiting the floating movement of the driving member in both directions, substantially as set forth.

5. In a motor driven vehicle', the combinetion with the hub of a traction Wheel, of an eccentric mounted concentrically in the ,hub on anti-friction bearings, the power driven axle member passing eccentrically through such eccentric and supported therein by antifriction bearings, a gear supported by said member, an internal gear c: rried by the hub and with which the axle gear meshes. and a said axle shaft. an internal gear carried. by

the hub and with which the axle gear meshes, and means limiting the angular movement of 'the eccentric in both tially as set forth. l

T. In a motor driven vehicle, the combination with the hub of a traction Wheel, of an eccentric mounted concentrically in the hub on anti-friction bearings, a power driven axle shaft passing eccentrically through such eccentric and supported therein by anti-friction bearings, a gear supported by said shaft, an internal gear carried by the hub and With which the axle gear meshes, an arm projecting radially from the eccentric and a stop on the chassis in the path of the movementof the arm for limiting the angular movement' of the eccentric in both tially as set forth.

8. In a -traction Wheel of the character described, the combination with a hub having side plates secured to a spoke ring, of

directions, substansprocket .roller bearings Within the hubv chamber, the journals of the rollers serving spoke ringi f to secure the side plates to the substantially as set forth.

9. In a traction Wheel of the character described, the combination With a chambered hub. of a divided eccentric closing the sides of the hub chamber except atthe anti-friction bearings, and a ring closing each bearing space, substantially as set forth. J/ r 1G. In av traction Wheel of the character described, the combination with the eccentric, of a stop arm projecting therefrom and a. removable stop in the line of movement of such stop arm, to limit the rotating move ment of the eccentric, substantiallyA as set forth.

1l. in a traction Wheel of the character described, the combination with the ecceni tric, of a stop arm projecting therefrom arid a normally Withdrawn stop in the line of movement of such stop arm, to limit the rota-ting movement of the eccentric, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 24th day of June, 1912.

DANEL C. SLAGHT. WILLIAM 'MLLER directions, substan- 'ico 

